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A Nakuru family is grappling with immense grief and unanswered questions following the discovery of their one-year-old son's mutilated body, two weeks after he went missing.
The family of Bernard Masanga and Celestine Anyona in Kiratina, Nakuru County, is in mourning after their one-year-and-two-months-old son, Isaac Francis, was found dead and mutilated. Isaac had been missing since Friday, October 4, 2025, and his body was discovered two weeks later in a trench.
Mr. Masanga recounted receiving a call from a neighbour on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at approximately 1:00 PM EAT, informing him of the grim discovery. Police officers arrived three hours later to retrieve the body, which was then transported to the Nakuru City Mortuary.
“The two weeks have not been easy for us. We barely eat, slept, or went to work. I had passed near that trench but I never saw the body. I couldn't believe it was my son. His body was swollen. I identified him through a birth mark on his neck,” Mr. Masanga stated, pleading for swift police action to bring his son's killers to justice.
The discovery of Isaac's body adds to a disturbing pattern of missing persons cases in Kenya, some of which have involved gruesome findings. In April 2022, an 11-year-old boy, Emanuel Kibet Kipkemboi, was found dead with 17 stab wounds to his head and neck in Kitengela, days after his disappearance. Similarly, in June 2025, an 11-year-old boy in Kayole, Nairobi, was found dead with missing body parts after being reported missing for a week.
The issue of missing persons has also gained political prominence, particularly in the context of anti-government protests. In September 2024, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki informed the National Assembly Committee that 132 people were reported missing during protests against the Finance Bill 2024, with 42 fatalities and 1,208 arrests. This acknowledgement marked the first time the Kenyan government officially recognized disappearances linked to these protests.
Kenya lacks a national database for missing persons, with each police station maintaining its own register. This absence of a centralized system complicates investigations and tracking. While the Kenya National Police Service established a specialized missing persons unit within the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in November 2024 to expedite investigations, particularly in femicide cases and other disappearances, challenges persist.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen admitted in May 2025 that the government does not possess official statistics on abductions and enforced disappearances, noting only 13 reported cases of missing persons to the police since the beginning of that year. This contrasts with figures from human rights organizations, which have documented a higher number of disappearances.
Human rights organizations, such as Missing Voices and the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), have consistently raised concerns about enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Kenya. Missing Voices, a coalition of Kenyan and global human rights organizations, has documented 109 cases of disappeared individuals since 2019. The KNCHR recorded 74 enforced disappearances between June and November 2024, many linked to protests against the Finance Bill 2024.
These organizations accuse authorities of using enforced disappearances as a tactic to intimidate critics and suppress dissent, a claim the police deny. The KNCHR has urged the National Police Service to uphold its role in protecting Kenyans and to investigate abductions, some of which have been captured on CCTV, without arrests being made.
The rising number of unresolved missing persons cases, particularly those involving children and alleged mutilation, erodes public trust in law enforcement and the justice system. The lack of a comprehensive national database for missing persons further hinders effective investigations and identification efforts. Human rights groups warn that a failure to hold perpetrators accountable sets a dangerous precedent and emboldens further human rights violations.
The motive behind Isaac Francis's murder and mutilation remains unknown. Similarly, the perpetrators in many other missing persons cases, especially those with suspicious circumstances, have yet to be identified and apprehended. There is an ongoing controversy surrounding the involvement of police in some disappearances, with human rights groups alleging police complicity, which the National Police Service denies.
The public will be closely watching the progress of the police investigation into Isaac Francis's death and whether those responsible will be brought to justice. Attention will also remain on the broader issue of missing persons in Kenya, particularly the effectiveness of the DCI's specialized unit and any efforts to establish a national database. Human rights organizations will continue to monitor and advocate for accountability in cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings.
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